Study: Drug Overdoses Rise During COVID-19, Creating ER Disparities

Nova Southeastern University professors conducted a landmark study on drug overdoses in Florida during COVID-19 and found unexpected results regarding disparities by age, ethnicity, and insurance status.

Among their key findings:

• There were more opioid and stimulant overdoses reported by emergency departments (EDs) during COVID-19 in Florida than before the pandemic.
• ED visits among those under age 18 were more likely to involve drug overdoses during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19.
• ED visits among those on Medicaid or without insurance were more likely to involve drug overdoses during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19.
• There were no disparities according to ethnicity or race. Drug overdoses were problematic for all groups during COVID-19.

The interdisciplinary, multi-college, multi-university study was conducted by Professors Timothy F. Page and François Sainfort from NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Professor Julie Jacko from NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, and Professor Weiwei Chen from Kennesaw State (Ga.) University’s Department of Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis. Their study of disparities in drug overdoses during COVID-19 was the first research of its kind in the state of Florida.

The researchers compared ED data from April to September 2019 (before the pandemic) to the same time period in 2020 (during the pandemic). While opioid overdose visits increased during the pandemic, visits for other causes declined as activity was restricted during the pandemic.

“This type of research has broad impact in the scientific community. It advances our knowledge of drug abuse during the pandemic and therefore helps us help society,” said Andrew Rosman, Dean of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

The opioid crisis continues to persist in Florida as well as the United States, fueling thousands of overdose deaths. In 2019, the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control awarded Florida a new Overdose Data to Action grant, which was expanded in the scope of previous drug overdose surveillance to include more non-opioid related overdoses and strengthened funding of prevention efforts.

For details on the study go to https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/epdf/10.1089/pop.2021.0369 or contact Professor Timothy F. Page at tpage1@nova.edu

Posted 03/15/22